Next up! Cornwall Gingerbread cookies!

​Now that the turkey is done, the relatives have made themselves scarce, and the cranberry sauce stains have been addressed, it's time to kick this holiday season business into high gear!

I was privy to far too much delicious food this past week, so, despite my sub conscience screaming, never eat again............the holiday kick off would not be complete without making a batch of these cute little Gingerbread Men! They are fragrant with ginger, both crystallized and ground, ground cloves and cinnamon. The Lyle's Golden syrup is a key ingredient, very English, sources and story follows. Our Granddaughter, Emma, was visiting for a few days, so, I couldn't resist making these delicious cookies with her. 

If you like your gingerbread men on the softer side, cook a little less time. If you don't want to hassel with cutting and rolling, just roll them into balls and press with a sugar coated glass, these will be super soft and yummy! there are a few ways to decorate your cookies, you can press raisins or currents into the dough before cooking or you can decorate with frosting, as Emma and I did. You can also use these Gingerbread men as tree decorations of gift tags, just pierce a hole into the cookie before cooking with a skewer or small cocktail straw, add pretty ribbon after they are cooked and decorated.

Cornwall Gingerbread cookie

3/4 c. butter

1 c. sugar

1/4 c. Lyle's Golden syrup (sources listed below)

1 egg

2 c. flour (+1/2cup, if you are rolling out and cutting shapes)

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1 1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp. lemon extract

1/4 c. chopped crystallized ginger (grind in a small food processor if you have one)

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add Lyle's syrup, then beat in egg.

Combine flour with soda, salt and spices. Beat dry ingredients into butter mixture. Fold in crystallized ginger.

Form into balls, roll in sugar, and place on a silpat or parchment paper lined cookie sheet. and press with a sugar coated glass bottom. For rolled cookies, refrigerate for 20 minutes, then roll out and cut into desired shapes.

Bake for 10-12 minutes.  

 

 
Lyle's Golden syrup

Where to find it~ A English boutique store, Amazon, Metropolitan Market

About Lyle's ~

  Abram Lyle, a successful Scottish businessman set about constructing a sugar refinery on the banks of the river Thames with his three sons. The company became known as Abram Lyle & Sons. And so began the story of one of the world’s oldest and best loved brands. From working in the sugar business, Lyle noticed that the sugar cane refining process produces a treacly sort of syrup, which could be further refined. The result was a delicious preserve and sweetener for cooking. He started selling small quantities of “Goldie” from wooden casks to his employees and local customers. Word spread quickly that the syrup was delicious and soon Lyle was selling a tonne a week! He replaced the wooden casks with “Lyle's Golden Syrup” dispensers, and they soon began to appear on the shelves of grocery stores all over London. It was only a matter of months before the tin, as we know it today, started to be used.

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How They Do It

Lyle's Golden Syrup hasn't changed in 127 years and is still made the same way it was all those years ago. The secret to Lyle's is the perfect blend of sugar molecules, which are continually refined throughout the process. This ensures that the highest quality standards are met for consumers to enjoy the sweet glistening syrup that they know and love.For those of you who are scientifically minded… the sucrose molecule splits in half to give glucose and fructose sugars. This inverted syrup is blended back with the original syrup to give a partially inverted syrup. The secret of Lyle's Golden Syrup is the final blend of sucrose, glucose and fructose, which allows the syrup to be so thick and velvety without crystallizing. 

A gift for neighbors or a hostess gift!

 

A Holiday party idea!

Holiday Party time!

 Every holiday season, it's the same old yarn: office parties, last-minute shopping, and another boring sweater from your Aunt Peggy. If you're ready for a new pattern --  host a "Ugly Christmas Sweater Party" -- this is really fun idea! The Ugly Sweater Party with prizes puts a casual spin on a stressful time of year and the ugliest sweaters yule ever see. Look around or goggle ugly holiday sweater, you'll  find one ugly enough for first prize!!





Have a terrific Cyber Monday!

Cheers!
JJ